Tennis-injured Pliskova out of Australian Open

(Reuters) – World’s fourth Karolina Pliskova has withdrawn from next month’s Australian Open due to a hand injury, the player said in a statement released by tournament organizers on Thursday.

The 29-year-old advanced to the semi-finals in Melbourne in 2019, eventually losing to champion Naomi Osaka. He made it to the finals at Wimbledon this year before running into the U.S. Open semi-finals.

“Unfortunately, I was injured in my right hand yesterday in practice and I can’t play in Adelaide, Sydney and the Australian Open this year,” Pliskova said.

Pliskova is the latest high-profile player to miss out on the Melbourne Park major, and Grand Slam champions Serena Williams, Bianca Andreescu and Roger Federer are also absent.

The Australian Open will begin on January 17th.

(Reporting by Hritika Sharma in Bengaluru; edited by Peter Rutherford)